NET is coming [Microsoft Web services platform]

Discusses the emergence of Microsoft´s .NET platform for XML based Web services. .NET has a central role in Microsoft´s strategy to integrate the Internet, Web services, building block services, numerous tools for developers, and many other features. .NET has benefited from a several-billion-dollar investment in research. Microsoft´s competitors haven´t missed the message, as indicated by several recent announcements such as Sun´s Open Net Environment. No one in this industry can be guaranteed to hold the lead for long, but Microsoft has the potential to stage a major coup. Whatever happens, .NET will affect nearly everyone involved in any kind of enterprise or Web development.